The present invention relates to the trouble shooting, training and configuration of computer controlled machinery, such as machine tools in a factory, and more particularly to providing those support services from a remote location via a communication link.
Machine tools, that once were purely mechanical devices controlled by a human operator, now are being controlled by computer systems which have been programmed to operate the machine tool in a prescribed manner to process a part being manufactured. As the complexity of the computer control grew, so did the ability to trouble shoot problems that arose with the operation of the computerized machine tool.
Presently trouble shooting requires that a service technician come to the premises at which the machine tool is located and interface with the machine""s computer to execute diagnosis routines. In many instances, the technician must observe the operation of the machine tool to determine how it is performing in response to specific manually entered commands. In addition, the technician usually discusses the errors and historical performance with the operator of the machine. Once the source of the problem has been identified, the technician then enters commands into a terminal for the machine tool""s computer which correct the situation. This process requires that a technician with a high level of skill in diagnosing and solving the problems come to the machine tool. Therefore, a large number of skilled technicians are required in order to timely service machine tools located throughout a large geographical area.
As a result, it is desirable to enable a technician to perform the trouble shooting and problem solving from a central location, such as the office of an equipment distributor or manufacturer, without having to go the location of the machine tool. This would enable a single technician to service machines throughout a large territory and service a greater number of machines as travel time is eliminated. Although it is feasible to remotely control the machine tool""s computer, such a data communication link would not enable the service technician to observe the physical movement of the machine or to conduct real time discussions with the machine tool operator. As used herein the terms xe2x80x9cremote controlxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cremote locationxe2x80x9d relate to a physical separation of the machine tool and a control station at different locations, which precludes a person in one location from directly observing events at the other location or from speaking unaided to someone at the other location.
Although software presently exists for communicating either data, audio or video via a computer over a dial-up telephone line, the individual programs for each type of information have been considered incompatible for simultaneous execution so that all three types of information could be sent over the same telephone connection together in real-time. Each program typically requires exclusive control of the telephone line and thus can not share access with the other programs as each one expects to have the full bandwidth of the telephone line available to it. Thus the conventional approach would be to use separate telephone lines for each modality, which doubles or triples the communication expense, the number of lines and the connection effort.
An alternative proposal involves interconnecting the service technician""s office with the machine tool computer by the Internet which would permit the transmission of audio and video along with the digital information. However, the rate of information transmission over the Internet between any given pair of computers varies greatly depending upon the amount of communication between other computers that is being carried at the same time. In addition, the Internet may send the packets of information via different paths. As a result, the Internet information transfer encounters unpredictable time delays which does not facilitate real-time control of the machine tool.
The present invention provides an interactive tool that facilitates remote support, such as diagnosis and virtual training, for the operation of machinery. This system utilizes a real-time, fully interactive graphical interface in conjunction with simultaneous transmission of at least audio or video, preferably both, to accomplish this inter-activity. The mechanism behind this technology is a TCPIP network that is established between a remote control computer and the host control for the machine. The conduit for this network is a point-to-point modem connection that is established using a single conventional communication link, such as a dial-up telephone line.
The present invention allows the limited bandwidth of a standard telephone line to simultaneously carry data for controlling the machine, voice communication between a remote technician and the machine operator, and video images of the people and the machine""s operation. The simultaneous transmission of these three distinct types of information occurs in a time division multiplex manner.